The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for processing seed cotton. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus and method for removing a fiber fraction from seed cotton.
Various devices have been proposed for ginning seed cotton. It is highly desirable when operating a gin apparatus that the performance and capacity of the gin apparatus be maximized. The performance of the ginning apparatus may be evaluated in terms of the percent of lint removed from the seed cotton while the capacity of the gin apparatus may be evaluated in terms of the amount of seed cotton that is processed in a given amount of time.
In one type of ginning apparatus described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,441,232 which is assigned to the assignee herein, a plurality of cage rollers are rotatably driven in a continuous path. A nip roller is positioned in abutting relation to the cage rollers on the side of the continuous path opposite to the side that receives the seed cotton. A suction source draws air through the cage rollers and thus tends to draw at least a portion of the fiber fraction from the seed cotton through the cage rollers. The seed cotton moves in conjunction with the cage rollers as the cage rollers move in their continuous path and the fiber fraction drawn in by the suction is nipped by the nip roller and removed from the apparatus through the suction duct.
While that apparatus is effective in removing a large portion of the fiber fraction from the seed cotton, the apparatus is susceptible of improvements. During operation of that ginning apparatus, the locks of seed cotton that are fed to the cage rollers tend to bunch-up and fall on top of one another when they reach the cage rollers. As a consequence, the locks of cotton which are not in direct contact with the cage rollers but which lie on top of other locks of seed cotton are not subjected to the air suction nor are they subjected to the nipping action of the nip rollers during the ginning process. Thus, a portion of the seed cotton remains unginned after passing through the ginning apparatus.